A first: NYC food truck scores a liquor license

Food trucks these days offer everything from pizza and schnitzels to cupcakes and artisan ice cream. Until now, alcohol wasn't on the menu.

But Pera Turkish Taco Truck, one of four vendors parked at Tavern on the Green, at West 67th Street, is the first truck to be awarded a full liquor license by the New York State Liquor Authority. Starting Friday, it will serve beer, wine and cocktails, including those made with vodka, rum, gin, tequila and whiskey.

Two other food truck vendors in Central Park are planning to apply for a liquor license as well, confirmed a spokesman for the SLA.

One stipulation of the license, however, is ensuring that customers with alcoholic beverages do not wander beyond the seating area of the Tavern on the Green Food Truck Terrace or into Central Park.

“We recognize this privilege comes with considerable responsibility,” said Burak Karacam, who owns the truck and Pera Mediterranean Brasserie, on Madison Avenue near Grand Central Terminal. “Our enforcement will be diligent.”

To that end, the Pera truck will use cups with a yellow band for its alcoholic beverages, and it will designate certain tables for customers who want to imbibe. The drinks will cost between $6 and $12, Mr. Karacam said.

He hopes that the expanded menu will encourage customers to linger longer by the trucks.

“People usually leave after 10 or 15 minutes, so we want to entice them to stay longer,” the restaurateur said.

Mr. Karacam applied for the license in March and appeared before Community Board 7.

Last year, four food trucks were awarded a one-year license from the Department of Parks and Recreation to operate at Tavern on the Green while the city decides what to do with the restaurant, which closed Jan. 1, 2010. It is now a visitor's center.

The trucks, which also include Rickshaw Dumplings, Ladle of Love and VanLeeuwen Ice Cream, have an option to renew their license for an additional year.

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